Originally Posted by ksucats
First of all, am I correct in my thinking?
Yes. You will earn miles as if it were a nonstop, even though you'll probably have to change planes in DTW.
Second, is there anything that I can do about it?
Standing by for an earlier flight is a good idea. You might even be able to confirm an earlier flight online day-of for $25, in which case you'll have a better shot at a good seat than if you go stand-by at the airport. Otherwise, you'll probably have to exchange your ticket for a different routing if you want to confirm it ahead of time, which may be quite costly if you don't have a refundable ticket (almost certainly not worth it unless those few miles will be the difference between status levels).